The cover plate of the portfolio is dated 2 March 1871, shortly before the beginning of the Paris Commune, though the plates were published at different dates, mainly between January and the end of March. The title is framed by images of several of the characters who appear in the collection, such as Léon Gambetta (sunflower), Henri Rochefort (grape), Général Trochu (carnation), Adolphe Thiers and Louis-Philippe d’Orléans (pears), Jules Favre (‘immortelle’: eternal flower) and Giuseppe Garibaldi (laurel). It includes the artist, Alfred Le Petit himself, as a gardener.

Paris (16, rue du Croissant): Au Bureau de l’Eclipse, [1871]

CUL, 8001.b.156